ABSTRACT
Most discussions of the PLA's capabilities focus on military hardware, doctrine, tactics, and funding. These analyses are necessary but not sufficient to assess the PLA's practical capabilities either now or in the future. Politics is a huge, variable factor bearing on the capabilities of the PLA to fulfil Beijing's goals. The PLA may be acquiring new equipment, attitudes and doctrines, but political issues will partly determine in what kinds of situations the PLA's new weapons and tactics might be used, how effectively they are used, and which weapons and tactics the PLA will look for in the future.
